Loving Yourself

Sharing with you an article based on a talk I gave on my podcast channel… Truetalk with Agnes Isika.

Hello, friends, family, and loved ones. Today I would like to discuss with you a beautiful topic that I have been pondering over all day.
Loving yourself is that topic that has been on my mind and as I ponder over what that means to different people, I decided that this could be a great topic to share with you my beautiful friends out there.
In life, we get carried away with so many things like getting our jobs done at work, getting our house cleaned up, getting the children ready for school, making food, what clothes to wear for various occasions etc. As we focus on getting so many things done, we frequently forget to take care of ourselves, pamper ourselves, and love ourselves.

As the topic of loving yourself came to my mind, I started thinking of ways that I can love myself and I realized that there are so many ways that I can show love to myself.
Remember, you can only give what you have, you cannot give what you do not have. So, if you do not love yourself or you’ve not practiced the art of loving yourself, then how can you properly love the other things that you do? Do you just carry out all your chores or do you do them lovingly with a smile and see and give love in all that you do? There is a difference when you give love.

I was in a meeting with the members of my blog team, “Agnesisikablog,” on Saturday morning; a very wonderful family that I have come to love so much and embrace. While we were discussing, we decided to talk about which article that we connected with the most during the month. As I was thinking it through, a quote from my website popped up. Yes, we have daily quotes on Agnesisika.com and the quote that popped up today was on love. “Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it”. That made me think more about the topic that has been on my mind all day which is, loving yourself.
I will repeat that quote again: “Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.” I asked myself how can I truly love myself? I concluded that one big way I can love myself is by being honest in communicating with people about what I can or cannot commit to.
 
When discussing with people sometimes, people have expectations. Most times people have expectations of what they want from us. They are honest, right? I also need to be honest with them to say this is what I’m able to give you or offer you and this is what I am not able to. Committing to more than what I can do is prioritizing others’ needs and loving them, but not accepting to love myself or not giving myself enough love too. I will be able to accomplish what has been promised but will I be in one piece after I have given this or would accomplishing that goal make me as exhausted and not even really feel or enjoy myself? As good as it is to be selfless, and give more of us out, there is one big chunk of loving yourself that I would like to discuss today. It will be, to be honest, in giving commitment with love for yourself in mind. You know yourself more than anyone else does, so I would like you today to honestly evaluate what you can commit to. Be honest to say this is what I’m able to commit to and this is what I’m not able to right now. Be intentional about loving yourself.
 
To buttress this, this past week, there were a lot of times I got back home tired, and I realized that I’m giving a lot to accomplishing every other task I must do: get groceries, clean the house, and get my work done at the office, check up on my friends etc. Even though all of these are parts of me, I noticed most times I got home super tired. The only thing I could do was just take a shower, eat, and sleep once I’m home. I asked myself how I can do these things better.

I said OKAY, I can draw up A to-do list of what I’m able to do every day and if additional things come up that day, I can honestly say OK, I’m going to do this later rather than just taking everything and will not be able to take care of myself. Or maybe, I’m not even able to eat my food just because I’m trying to get all those things done. If I’m not able to take proper care of myself, that could make me sick and that could now lead to this next saying…. “Eat your food like medicine or you will eat medicine like food.”
So, loving yourselves means, we should set attainable goals, and we should be honest in committing to tasks, of what we can do daily. I know that there are so many other aspects we can love ourselves, but this is one big one. In subsequent episodes, we will talk more about the other aspects of loving yourself. These include listening to your body, pampering yourself, taking care of what you eat, your looks, sleep, and exercise, having supportive friends, and more.
 
This is your girl, Agnes, I love you guys and I wish you a very beautiful month. Bye for now!